Dr. Willie Ong issues statement after Kris Aquino threatened to file legal action over fake ads

Dr. Willie Ong has spoken after Kris Aquino threatened to file a lawsuit over fake ads making rounds online.

This, after Kris threatened to take legal action over false claims she is endorsing a mixed nuts product that claims to cure illnesses such as cancer, obesity, and diabetes.

Dr. Willie said Kris might have been misled because he is not endorsing these products and that he himself is a victim of the fake ads.

“These are all obviously fake ads and scammer pages. And Ms. Kris Aquino and her lawyers may have been misled by these fake ads which are not mine po. I do not own nor endorse these products. Please be careful po,” Dr. Willie wrote in his Facebook post.

The famous internet doctor, who previously ran for Vice President alongside then-presidential contender Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, made it clear that only endorses a single product.

“Wala po ako ine endorse na kahit anong produkto except for one which is Birch Tree Advance, which is a charity advocacy for seniors. All the rest including Mixed Nuts are fake po,” he remarked.

He also warned his supporters to be wary of the pages they are following on Facebook, saying he only has one official Facebook account and it’s the one with a blue checkmark which indicates that it’s a verified account.

“I am not the endorser or the owner of these fake FB pages using my name. The fake ads issue is a worldwide problem [for] influencers. I and many other influencers are the victims here. My official page has a blue verified checkmark named Doc Willie Ong with 17 million followers. All FB pages with only a few followers using my name are fake pages po,” he said.

While Doc Willie, as he is fondly called by his supporters, said that he can only do so much to prevent people from being scammed, he said he has already taken action by reporting them to Facebook.

“I have no control [over] what fake pictures they post. I have reported this to FB for the past 5 years with little success since the scammers just keep making new FB accounts. This is a problem [for] many influencers,” he said.

Doc Willie also appealed to clear his name from getting tainted by the accusations made against him. “I hope you can clarify this so as not to harm my reputation,” he said.

Kris — who is currently in the U.S. to seek treatment for her autoimmune conditions — slammed the false advertisements in her response to lawyer Enrique V. Dela Cruz Jr. of Divina Law Office on Instagram, saying she has never been diagnosed with cancer and is, in fact, allergic to certain nuts.

“Atty. Ricky, I hope the post about me & this ‘miracle’ whatever food has been taken down because sobrang hindi totoo. Until now I’m unable to really eat food, it’s still milk and more milk for me… NEVER ako na diagnose as having cancer. And most of the nuts shown in the pictures I am ALLERGIC to!” Kris said.

To which Dela Cruz replied: “We are working on it, Ma’am. We already sent a demand letter for them to take it down/delete the posts. We will keep you posted.”

READ: Kris Aquino threatens to sue over false ad for ‘miracle food’

As seen in the letter published by INQUIRER.net, the false ads were shared on unofficial and unverified pages of media personalities, Drs. Willie and Liza Ong. Nonetheless, Kris’s legal counsel has demanded that the physicians remove the ads from their Facebook page and other social media platforms. They also warned them not to use her name and image in any of their future posts.

“Ms. Kris Aquino is an actress, endorser, and producer, who has been active in the Philippine show business industry for over three decades. Her name and image is a brand in itself which is protected by our laws from unauthorized use or misappropriation,” the letter said.

“Thus, we hereby demand that you CEASE and DESIST from using the name and image of Ms. Kris Aquino in any of your social media posts. We further demand that you remove all the above-mentioned posts and other similar posts from your Facebook page or other social media platforms five (5) days from your receipt of this letter. Otherwise, we shall be constrained to file the necessary legal action against you to fully protect our client’s interest. We trust that you shall give this matter your immediate attention,” it added.

The 52-year-old actress has been in California to seek medical treatment for her autoimmune conditions since June last year. The actress has been diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria, autoimmune thyroiditis, and late stage 3 of Churg Strauss Syndrome or inflammation of blood vessels. In February 2022, she said she has been cleared of cancer, diabetes, and kidney and liver diseases.